4. THE RISE OF A MUSLIM-TURKISH MIDDLE CLASS GROUP AND BUREAUCRATIZATION for The Transformation of the Ottoman State, 1789-1908 Author(s): Kemal H.

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The Transformation of the Ottoman State, 1789-1908Author(s): Kemal H. KarpatSource:

International Journal of Middle East Studies,

Vol. 3, No. 3 (Jul., 1972), pp. 243-281Published by: Cambridge University PressStable URL:

http://www.jstor.org/stable/162799

Accessed: 05/10/2008 19:02

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Int.J.MiddleEast Stud.3

(I972),

243-28IPrintedin Great Britain

Kemal H.Karpat

THE TRANSFORMATIONOFTHEOTTOMANSTATE,1789-1908

I. INTRODUCTION

THEstudyof theOttomanstatein thelatterpartof theeighteenthcenturyandthroughoutthenineteenth demandsabroaderanalyticalframeworkthanhither-to used ifitstransformation andthesocialandpolitical historyof theMiddleEast,theBalkans,andevenNorthAfrica,which werepartsoftheOttomanStateatone timeorother,are tobeproperlyevaluated andinterpreted.Most of the studiesonthe modernizationof theMiddle Eastdeal with thenature andintensityofoutsidestimuli,that is tosay,theEuropeanimpact,andmuch less withtheforceswithinthe Middle Easternsocietywhich conditionedtheresponseto thesestimuli. Inaddition,thehistoryoftheMiddleEast and theBalkansinthe nineteenthcenturyhas been viewed andinterpretedfrom ratherdogmaticnationalviewpoints. Consequently,thechangesinthe social andpoli-tical structures of the Ottomanempire,and theprofound impactofthesechangeson thenature oftheemergingnational statesinthearea,have oftenbeenignoredorinterpretedin line with the writers'ideologicalandnationalbiases.Suchinterpretationshaveresulted notonlyfromacertainunwillingnessto shedone'sculturalandreligiousoutlookonhistorybut also from insufficient know-ledgeofthesocialhistoryoftheOttomanstate.Fromtheverystartit isneces-sarytorecognizetheessential factthatthe Balkan andMiddleEasternsocieties,and their socio-cultural-economic structureinthe Ottomanera,weresubjecttotransformationthroughtheimpactofinternalforceslongbefore massiveEuropeaninfluenceacceleratedthistransformation.Already bythe endofthesixteenthand thebeginningoftheseventeenth centuries- thatis,almostduringtheheightof itspower-the OttomanempirefacedserioussocialdislocationasindicatedbyHasanKafi Bosnevi(Akhisari)

(I544-I6i6)

in hisUsul al-hikemfinizamal-alem,andlater,in

1630,

byKo9iBeyinhisRisdle.Theprocessoftransformationinculturalsystemsdifferentfromthat of theWest must be viewedasoperatingatseveral levels inaccordancewithinternaland external stimuli.IntheOttomanempiretheprocessofchange operatedinthe social-economicspherewithinthecontext of thefoursocialestates.Origin-ally changerevolvedaroundthewell-defined functionsoftheseestatesand waspredictablesincetheforcesof transformation remainedconstant.Butbeginningin the sixteenthcentury,afterthe addition ofnew forces ofchange,the third

16-2

243

244KemalH.Karpatandfourthestatesof the merchants andcraftsmen,and foodproducers(peasantsandhusbandsmen)brokeout of thetraditional socialarrangementand of thepredictable cycleoftransformation.Eventually,this structuralchangeunder-mined the socio-economic foundationsofthe first andsecondestates;thatis,the men ofthe sword and of thepen,andreshapedtheirancientpolitical-culturalfunctions.It wasinthis social environmentthatanewgroupof communal leadersarose. Theirhistory,hardlystudiedatall,epitomizesthe transformation oftheOttomanempireintheeighteenthand nineteenth centuries. We havereferred andstill referto thisgroupas theayansin orderto describethe Muslim sections ofthe middle class.Weusethistermin arathersymbolicfashion since themeaning,functions andpoweroftheayanschanged continuouslyintheeighteenthand nineteenth centuries.z The often-usedterm 'notables'orefrafwithrespectto thisclassrefersactuallytothegroupswhichemergedlatein theeighteenth centuryas aconsequenceofthe transformationinthe socio-economicorder.3Usuallythetitleayanwasconferredby governmentwhilee?rafwererecognizedassuchbyindividual communitiesas aconsequenceofsocial strati-fication. The relationsoftheayanswith thebureaucraticorder andtheir con-flictinggroupideologiesformed,webelieve,the centraldynamicsofthe internaltransformation which occurred in Ottomansocietyintheeighteenthandearlynineteenth centuries.Bothgroupswere inturnsubjectedto externalinfluencesinvaryingdegreesofintensity,and at different levels ofactivity,andrespondedindependentlyand ofteninconflict with each otherto the multifacedstimulifromoutside.Faced with thissituation,theOttomanpoliticalsystem,basedona seriesofbalances,begantodisintegratewhilecreatingat thesame timetheneedfor a newsystem.Indeed,thesystem's inabilityto answerthechallenge,coupledwith the evolution of thesocialstructure intopoliticalstatesalongcultural-religiouslines,stood asmajorcausesaccountingfor thedisintegrationoftheOttomanstate,butnotbeforeit madevaliantefforts tocopewiththesituation.Thegovernment'sultimateanswertothis situationbeganasanattemptatintegrationthroughcentralizationunder SelimIII,andeventuallyculminatedin theestablishmentof aTurkish nationalstate.Itisclear from the above that our treatmentofthetransformationinthe

I

Forthis ancientsocialarrangementsee E. I.J. Rosenthal,PoliticalThoughtinMedieval Islam(Cambridge,

I962).

Nasir al-Dinal-Tusi,The NasireanEthics,tr. G. M.Wickens(London,I964).

2

Foramoreextensive treatment oftheayanandforbibliographyseeKemal H.Karpat,'TheLandRegime,SocialStructure,and ModernizationintheOttomanEmpire',Beginnings ofModernization intheMiddleEast,WilliamR.Polkand RichardL. Chambers(eds.),(Chicago,I968),pp.69-90.Seealso article'Ayan'inEncyclopaediaofIslam(newedition)and HerbertL.Bodman, Jr.,PoliticalFactionsinAleppo1760-1826(ChapelHill,N.C.,

I963).

I. H.Uzuncarsllh, MeehurRumeliAyanlarzndanTirsinikliIsmail,YillzkogluSiileymanAgalarveAlemdarMustafaPasa(Istanbul, 1942)andAvdoSuceska,Ajani (Sarajevo,

I965).

3

Foraview ofesrafsinSyriasee AlbertHourani'OttomanReform and the PoliticsofNotables',op.cit.,Beginnings ofModernization...,pp.

4I-68.

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